Henry Leach

Henry Leach (18 November 1923-26 April 2011) was the British First Sea Lord from 1979 to 1982, succeeding Terence Lewin and preceding John Fieldhouse.

Biography
Henry Leach was born in Newton Abbot, Devon, England in 1923, the third son of John Leach, who was killed during World War II. The younger Leach also served in the Royal Navy during the war, ending the war as a lieutenant and navigating officer. He also served on HMS Newcastle during the Korean War and Malayan Emergency, and he was promoted to Commander in 1955 and given command of HMS Dunkirk in the Mediterranean in 1959. In 1971, he was promoted to Rear Admiral, to Vice Admiral in 1974, to full Admiral in 1977, and to First Sea Lord in 1979. He convinced Margaret Thatcher to allow for him to send a task force to relieve the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War, and he retired in December 1982 with the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. He died in 2011 at the age of 87.